As of June 1, 520 Eugenics Board sterilization victims or their families have filed claims for compensation from the $10 million fund established by the state in 2012, according to the Office for Justice of Sterilization Victims.

The office has forwarded 320 of those claims on to the Industrial Commission for a determination of eligibility; the remaining claims have been logged in as valid pending further information from the victims or additional research by the office.

That’s an increase over the 442 claims by potential victims reported by the office in May, 281 of which had then been forwarded to the Commission for further consideration.

Some 7500 men and women were involuntarily sterilized from 1929 to 1974 under the guise of state law.

By the state’s own numbers nearly 1800 of those victims may still be alive, given that more than 2000 were under the age of 18 at the time of sterilization (as reported by the Winston-Salem Journal in its comprehensive series “Against Their Will”).

By early 2013, though, the state had only been able to verify 176 as still living.

Victims have until June 30, 2014 to file a claim form (found here) for recovery from the fund.

To read more about the Eugenics Board sterilization program and the state’ efforts to compensate victims, click here.